Family
by Melantha A
Summary: How does a young girl choose between her family and her life? When she has a chance to live as normally as possible she finds that there are certain consequences...[SandSibs]


**Naruto- _Family_**

**Summary: How does a young girl choose between her family and living a semi-normal life? When she has the opportunity to live happily she finds that there are certain sacrifices she's not willing to make…SandSibs**

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_So, I know this has technically been posted for quite some time, but I've decided to go on a massive rewriting spree. A bunch of my oneshots aren't up to my level any more, therefore they must be rewritten::is on quest::_

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"Over here Temari!" The young girl with floppy brown hair called to the eight year old blonde kunoichi in training. Temari jogged over to her new friend, smiling happily. They were on a sandy playground in the middle of the village of Suna, with the sun dipping towards the horizon. The eldest daughter of the Kazekage knew she would have to go soon in order to make curfew but she didn't want to crush the happiness that inflated her like a balloon. 

Temari was rarely truly happy. You couldn't be a normal eight year old if you were the child of the Kazekage and therefore related to the village's resident demon child. But this young girl that called to Temari so exuberantly was new to the village and did not know of Temari's family ties. She knew that it wouldn't be long until the small brunette found out about Temari's family through the other bitch girls that hung out around here, but she savored the happy times while they lasted.

"Hey, Sayuri!" Temari said with an even brighter smile.

"Let's go to the swings Temari!" The carefree girl said with a glowing smile. Temari turned to the swings, deflating. A group of her worst enemies stood clustered around the swing. If anything could burst Temari's bubble of happiness, it would be the children she was now being pulled towards by her new friend.

Before she could open her mouth to protest, they were at the swings and Temari noticed for the first time that the girls were the only problem with the swings. On the swing furthest from the eight year olds perched Gaara, hugging his ever present teddy bear. She tried her best to ignore him as well as the whispers coming from the Blonde Bitches, as Temari had begun calling them, though she herself was blonde.

No such luck.

"Aw, look at that little boy! He's all alone and he looks so sad!" Sayuri gushed, not noticing the sudden silence from the Blonde Bitches and the sharp intake of breath from Temari. "Let's go play with him!" Sayuri was apparently very nice, which now annoyed Temari to no end.

Temari opened her mouth to explain about Gaara, but was cut off by a scathing voice behind them, as she had feared.

"Oh, you don't want to play with him." The Queen of the Blonde Bitches said in a voice that made Temari imagine quite vividly tearing out her voice box with her bare hands. "That's Gaara of the Desert. He'll kill you as soon as look at you. But Temari should know that, shouldn't you Temari?" Sayuri looked at Temari confused, her eyes begging for an answer.

Temari had hidden her face in the shadows, more out of boredom than hiding tears. This Blonde Bitch had a particular habit of teasing Temari, and she never had anything new to say. It was all the same…and there were no variations this time.

"Her whole family is messed up. That little kid should have been killed a long time ago. No..."

"…Good comes from being her friend." Temari finished for her. "Seriously, something new would be highly appreciated." But Gaara had already heard what they girls were saying, and started to cry. He wasn't angry enough for the sand to begin its rampage but he came close. Close enough to make Temari sweat. The thing that caught her attention though, was the pain on his face. She tried to avoid this particular sibling as much as she could and had never seen him with such sadness on his face. She sighed heavily, with a slight glance at her new friend, who now stood next to Queen Bitch with a divided expression on her face.

"You know what, you little whore." How an eight year old knew these words, no one will ever know. "Bite me." She said evilly. She turned her back on the other girls and walked over to the swing where Gaara sat, tears leaking down his cheeks. The child looked up at his sister with wide eyes. He looked so pitiful, his face wet with tears, his thumb tucked into his mouth, his nose dripping. "Come on, Gaara." She said, holding out her hand. "Let's go home."

Gaara slid off the swing, taking her hand, thankfully with the one that had not been in his mouth. That one was busy clutching his teddy. As the pair walked past the group of girls, they were silent, terrified of Gaara's uncontrollable powers. But silent and fixed contempt was on each of their faces, including, to Temari's devastation, Sayuri's. She mourned how fast people could turn on their friends.

As the walked, Gaara tucked himself close to her leg, clinging with his free hand to her pants. She smiled down at him, slightly nervously. Perhaps he would take his pain out on her? But his big eyes looked into hers and Temari wondered how anyone could hate such an innocent child. But she consented that few people found him cute, and even fewer found him innocent.

"Why do they hate me?" Gaara asked her suddenly when they were close to home.

"Because you are special and some people are afraid of people who are special." Temari answered just as suddenly, not sure that Gaara understood. He tucked himself tighter to her side, making it even harder to walk. But Temari didn't say anything. She just walked along, her hand wrapped around her baby brother's shoulders.

When they got home, Gaara went straight to his room. Kankuro raised his eyebrows at the five year old's retreating back.

"Leave him along, Kankuro." Temari demanded. Kankuro had a habit of teasing both his siblings at inappropriate moments and had to be rescued from the throes of death several times. (Temari could be just as brutal as Gaara, with a hairline trigger.) He shrugged and went into his own room, deciding that solitude was better than being mixed up in whatever they were in. Temari quietly followed Gaara.

"Temari?"

"Yeah."

"Will you read me a story?" Gaara held up a book. Temari smiled and sat down on Gaara's bed, leaning against the wall. He squeezed next to her, resting a head on her shoulder. Temari began reading the book, a simple tale about ducks. Kankuro joined them soon after, laying across Temari's legs. He was soon asleep and Gaara, who could not sleep, simply lay against his sister, calm.

Temari smiled as she contemplated her younger siblings. She considered the path she had chosen that day, and what she sacrificed.

And she could honestly say she had no regrets.

**The End**

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_So what do you think of the rewrite? I tried to make it a bit longer, since I personally felt it was a little short. Anyways, thanks for reading! _

_-Melantha_


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